Mississippi State Bulldogs Woes Increase: Jalen Steele Out for Season

The Mississippi State Bulldogs are sitting in last place in the SEC with a 3 – 14 record in the conference (and an 8-21 overall record). The Bulldogs have been shorthanded all season as player after player succumbed to injury. The Bulldog’s best win of the season occurred on Saturday against their rivals the Ole Miss Rebels, but they lost on Thursday night to the South Carolina Gamecocks. In the loss, Mississippi State’s best player Jalen Steele left early with a knee injury. Steele has torn his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Steele is a 6’5″ Junior from Knoxville, TN, that was expected to be one of the better players in the SEC this season. This is the high-flying guard’s second season ending knee injury in two years. He missed eight weeks in the beginning of the season with a wrist injury that he injured in a game against Florida Atlantic. This is the fourth season ending knee injury for a Mississippi State player, but Steele is more crucial than the others. His loss will be devastating for the Bulldogs who have no player on their roster that is of the same caliber.

The Bulldogs play in the first round of the SEC tournament in Nashville on Wednesday with just six scholarship players. Mississippi State wasn’t expected to win the first game in the tournament, but now there isn’t even a small chance. Steele is Mississippi State’s best player by a mile and his loss will make this season that much worse for Rick Ray’s Bulldogs.